Abraham Lincoln Essay

483 words - 2 pages

Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was very important to the past history of our country. He helped to abolish slavery in this country and kept the American Union from splitting apart during the Civil War.At 22, he moved to New Salem, Illinois. With his gift for swapping stories and making friends, he became quite popular and was elected to the Illinois legislature in 1834. In his spare time, he taught himself law and became a lawyer. In 1847, he was elected to the U.S. Congress, but returned to his law practice until 1858, when his concern about the spread of slavery prompted him to ...view middle of the document...

In an 1858 speech, he said:What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independance? It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling sea coats, our army and our navy . . . Our defense is in the spirit which prized liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism at your own doors. Familiarize yourself with the chains of bondage and you prepare your own limbs to wear them (World Book Encyclopedia).He lost his campaign for the Senate, but during the debates with his opponent Stephen Douglas, he became well known for his opposotion to slavery. The southern states, which believed they depended upon slavery to remain prosperous in the cotton, tobacco, and rice industries, threatened to secede from the nation if Lincoln won the election. Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861, and by April 12, the southern states had formed the Confedrate States of America and the Civil War began.It was during the Civil War that Lincoln proclaimed the slaves free in the Confederate states. This was his famous Emancipation Proclamation, issued in 1863.But Lincoln knew that something else had to be done to insure liberty for the slaves after the war. So he worked hard to pass an antislavery amendment to the Constitution. The Thirteenth Amendment, passed by Congress in 1865, prohibited slavery in all states. It was this important act, and the Emancipation Proclamation, that won Lincoln his reputation as the Great Emancipator.

Other Essays On Abraham Lincoln

783 words - 4 pages
Illinois and Wisconsin. Scott sued his owner for his freedom claiming that he lived in a free state, thus he had become a free man. The trial finally reached the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that being in free territory does not make a slave free. Dred Scott lost the case and was still considered a slave.The race for the U.S. senate began between Democrat Stephen Douglas and Republican Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln believed that the "government

414 words - 2 pages
Taney ruled Scott could not be a citizen of the United States. It was a seven to two majority. The decision greatly influenced the election of Abraham Lincoln as President and the South's succession from the Union. This decision also declared the Missouri Compromise, which restricted slavery in some areas, unconstitutional. This decision was very controversial.

1012 words - 5 pages
of Kansas as a free state.Aided by the anti-slavery sentiment in the North, which had the majority of the electoral votes, the Republican party, led by Abraham Lincoln, was able to win the Election of 1860. With virtually no support in the South and only 40 percent of the popular vote, the election of Lincoln was a terrible political defeat for the southerners; he had been elected to office on the strength of the anti-slavery ballot. This

1941 words - 8 pages
) Absalom's blind fear is symbolic of the fear, blindness, and misunderstanding between whites and blacks; these are the reasons of racial hatred. In his room, there are pictures "of Christ crucified and Abraham Lincoln" (176), the two men who fought for human love and compassion and were killed because of their beliefs. Arthur Jarvis can be identified with Jesus Christ. Jesus taught "love thy neighbor as thyself". Roman priests didn't understand him

1068 words - 5 pages
a piece of lunar rock. However, there are many other beautiful stained glass windows such as Saint Mosses, which illustrates the three stages of life Moses, and Abraham In The Crypt. The mosaics, located in the crypt level, also give the Cathedral a colorful look, since they portray images of religious passages such as The Resurrection.The whole building is adorned with complicated carved sculptures. For instance, the priest's podium is a

2755 words - 12 pages
the truth. Finally Eisle decided that the mother needed to know, so she met her obscure boarding house and explained the situation to Mrs. Cameron (mother). They decided to go and try to get a pardon from the president, Abraham Lincoln. The next day Mrs. Cameron went and pleaded for the pardon of her son at the White House. Mr. Lincoln said, "You're a kind and dear women, and if there is any way that I can prevent violence, then I'll do it

2092 words - 9 pages
American entrance into World War I a crusade to make the world "safe for democracy."Pericles, in his funeral oration, talks of valor as being very honorable. He comments that "Choosing to die resisting, rather than to live submitting" is a bold and courageous act and it deserves praise and glory. He says the soldiers "fled only from dishonor, but met danger face to face".Abraham Lincoln was faced with a similar task. The Gettysburg Address was

1457 words - 6 pages
. After the war ended she met and thanked Abraham Lincoln for being apart of the end to slavery. Sojourner Truth even formed a movement to desegregate the streetcars in Washington D.C. ("Narrative of sojourner truth by oliver gilbert 1850) Harriet Tubman on the other hand created a system to safely get slaves to escape to freedom, spoked upon as "one of the most remarkable abolitionists" (library.thinkquest-harriet-tubman)In conclusion, despite the

1587 words - 7 pages
The short story 'The Yellow Wall-Paper' written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a cry for freedom. This story is about a woman who fights for her right to express what she feels, and fights for her right to do what she wants to do. The narrator in this short story is a woman whose husband loves her very much, but oppresses her to the point where she cannot take it anymore. This story revolves around the main character, her oppressed life, and her

1836 words - 8 pages
Edgar Allen Poe's Symbolism of Death in 'The Fall of the House of Usher'Death is defined as, 'The termination or extinction of something' (American Heritage Dictionary). Edgar Allen Poe uses this description in 'The Fall of the House of Usher' in different ways. Poe's intention when writing 'The Fall of the House of Usher' was not to present a moral, lesson, or truth to the reader; he was simply trying to bring forth a sense of terror to the

2264 words - 10 pages
When one begins to analyze a military novel it is important to first look at the historical context in which the book was written. On the nights of February 13-14 in 1944 the city of Dresden, Germany was subjected to one of the worst air attacks in the history of man. By the end of the bombing 135,000 to 250,000 people had been killed by the combined forces of the United States and the United Kingdom. Dresden was different then Berlin or many of

Similar Papers

707 words - 3 pages
Abraham Lincoln is regarded by many historians as the greatest president ever to stand at America's helm. This reputation is extremely well deserved, as Lincoln was able to preserve the Union and gain victory in the civil war, despite his fighting an uphill battle against his own presidential cabinet. Had he not been struggling against this divided government, President Lincoln could have achieved victory with extreme efficiency and a minimum of

2524 words - 11 pages
to Godfrey Carriger, Sr., for the sum of $900. The family of three were; Violet, a mulatto, 23; Nathaniel, 3, and Jessee, 1.Mordecai and Sophia G. Lincoln Greeneville, Tennessee, in Greene County, had become a town of some 600 or 700 people by 1819. Among the prosperous merchants were Andrew Johnson, Mordecai Lincoln and Blackstone McDaniel.Lincoln was a tanner and owned a shoe and saddler's shop. He was a relative of President Abraham Lincoln and

646 words - 3 pages
Abraham Lincoln: Sectional President as Preserver of the Union Abraham Lincoln, a sectional candidate whose election led to secession of the South, succeeded in restoring the Union and laying a strong foundation for its future greatness. Both Lincoln's military policies and his domestic programs helped to make one of the most effective presidents in American history. Lincoln opposed slavery and chose moderate means to achieve

557 words - 3 pages
Enforcement Act of 1870 banned the use of terror, force, or bribery to preventpeople from voting because of their race.Even though there were so many positive effects to Reconstruction, there were alsonegative effects, like I said earlier. There were things like the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow Laws,the death of Abraham Lincoln, etc. The KKK was a group of white people that attacked AfricanAmericans because they were scared of the changes and they wanted